The Bruce-Oosterwijck Longitude pendulum sea clock - the first attempt to establish longitude

The Bruce-Oosterwijck Longitude pendulum sea clock - the first attempt to establish longitude at sea with a purpose-made mechanical timepiece. A recently re-discovered historically important spring pendulum Longitude timepiece The movement by Severijn Oosterwijck for Alexander Bruce in collaboration with Christiaan Huygens and Robert Moray, The Hague, circa 1662 The single fusee movement with heavily tapered plates measuring a maximum of 5.375 inches wide by 6.675 inches high united by four finned column turned pillars pinned through the backplate and a fifth slender square-section pillar positioned to the centre of the lower margin between the fusee and mainspring barrel, the four-wheel train with re-cut fusee and replaced great wheel to increase the duration to around one week and original spring set-up ratchet positioned on the inside of the backplate engaging with click wheel applied to the enlarged mainspring barrel, the centre wheel driving motionwork for traditional two-handed hours and minutes notation and the contrate wheel with arbor passing through the backplate fitted with a brass hand reading against a slender ring divided into sixtieths engraved directly into the backplate with every even number annotated, over exquisite engraved signature Severijn Oosterwijck Fecit Haghe to lower margin, the escapement crown wheel with long arbor to facilitate the pendulum to be suspended from the apex of the plates and shaped tapered square section top potance, the pallets with rear pivot via separate single-footed cock screwed to the backplate and with simple brass fork pendulum crutch, the pendulum with effective length of approximately 7.125 inches now fitted with a suspension spring and with ring-turned lenticular bob with aperture to centre and winged rating nut, the movement now fitted with a cheese-wedge shaped matted gilt brass dial plate measuring 10.125 inches high by 10 inches wide applied with slender silvered Roman numeral chapter ring with stylised Trident half hour markers and Arabic five minutes within the outer minute track, with fine sculpted steel hands, the movement and current dial now housed in a very well-made heavy cast brass conjectural reconstruction of the original case also of distinctive cheese-wedge shape formed as two sections joined via a riveted band applied mid-way to the sides and base, the rear with conforming cast panel centred with a glazed hinged circular porthole for viewing the subsidiary dial engraved on the movement backplate and secured snugly within the frame via four latched feet, the front with the dial (supporting movement) again set within the frame and secured via four feet applied pinned to angled brackets riveted to the interior, the whole suspended via a substantial Cardan-type ball and socket pivot from a drilled rectangular flange 41cm (16 ins) high overall; also included in the lot is a purpose-made 7 inch square gilt brass dial with matted centre, applied silvered Roman numeral chapter ring with cruciform half hour markers and Arabic five minutes to outer minute track, fine pierced steel hands, and winged cherub head cast spandrels to angles and a walnut table clock case made in the style of Joseph Knibb with gilt brass tied floral bud cast hinged handle to the caddy superstructure over cross-grain ogee cornice mouldings, glazed hinged dial aperture to front, veneered sides and blind door set within the frame of the case to the rear, on conforming moulded base, 30cm (11.75ins) high excluding handle. Movement train counts: Great wheel - 90 teeth Centre wheel - 78 teeth with pinion of 7. Contrate wheel - 73 teeth with pinion of 6. Crown wheel - 27 teeth with a pinion of 6.Provenance: The property of a private collector; previously with Meyrick Nielsen who advertised it for sale in 1977 but still had it in 1987 (see ANTIQUARIAN HOROLOGY Vol. XVI, No. 5, March 1987 page 485); thence by descent until acquired direct by the vendor in around 2006. Exhibited: The Royal Society, London 2013. The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich Ships, Clocks & Stars: The Quest for Longitude 2014. Literature: Dunn, Richard and Higgitt, Rebekah FINDING LONGITUDE Collins, Glasgow, in association with Royal Museums, Greenwich 2014; Pages 58-60, (two illustrations on page 58). Hunter, Michael the Image of Restoration Science - The frontispiece to Thomas Sprat s History of the Royal Society (1667) Routledge, London 2017; pages 81-83 (two illustrations on page 82). Betts, Jonathan MARINE CHRONOMETERS AT GREENWICH Oxford University Press, Oxford 2017; page 10 (illustrated in Figure 1.8) and page 118. Weston, Anthony A REASSESSMENT OF THE CLOCKS OF JOHN HILDERSON AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EAST SCHOOL article published in ANTIQUARIAN HOROLOGY , Vol. XXV No. 4; pages 431-32. Ponsford, Clive report on West Country Section Meeting on January 24th 1987 published in ANTIQUARIAN HOROLOGY Vol. XVI, No. 5, March 1987 page 485 (two illustrations). Piggot, Keith A Royal Haagse Klok online webpage article at http://www.antique-horology.org Oosterwijck/A-Royal-Haagse-Klok appendix 3; and APPENDIX FIVE, A Royal Haagse Klok Severijn Oosterwijck Haghe met privilege - ALEXANDER BRUCE S ENGLISH AND DUTCH LONGITUDE SEA-CLOCKS REDISCOVERED available as a pdf download online at .Please see printed and pdf catalogue at www.dreweatts.com for further information regarding:Historical ContextSeverijn Oosterwijck and the present timepieceThe present timepiece and its counterfpart in the National Maritime Museum, GreenwichThe Bruce Oosterwijck Longitude pendulum timepiece as a historical Artefact Please note that the ‘old’ wooden case (olivewood veneered) illustrated in the printed catalogue on page 92 has come to light and is available for purchase by the buyer of lot 108 by private treaty at a fixed price. Please contact department for more information.